Brickkiln and method of setting and burning



Feb. 6,1923. 11,444,220 W. l. SULLIVAN.

BRICK KILN AND METHOD OF SETTING AND BURNING.

FILED NOV. 1,1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I- Feb. 6, 1923.

w. J. SULLIVAN.

BRICK KILN AND METHOD OF SETTING AND BURNING.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- FILED NOV. 1, 1920.

ll atented Feb. T1923.

15$; w are n it Ja il IVIENT COlvCEPANY, F CH BRICKKILN Application filed November dent of Chicago,

in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented an Improvement in Brickl and Burning,

scription, in connection with mg drawings,

on the drawings representin My present kiln. and

preferably of the open or field kiln an improved method of burning the rilns and Methods of Setting of which the following dethe accompanyis a specification, like letters like parts. invention is a novel brick type same. Important objects oi"- the present invention are to enable entirely by means of cluding the arches or construction of a brick kiln to be built mechanical setters, inlower benches; a novel a kiln so built by mechanical setters; a means of setting or pulling the brick to form the arches; and an improved construction which will simplify the labor involved in kiln and arch building, save time in burning,

and will enable the brick in the arch to be utilized as serviceable,

marketable brick,

thus increasing the percentage of good brick in each kiln.

Heretofore building brick it has been customary, in

"I 1 Jr 1 knns, to construct the lower benches or arches with the legs for each arch of four rows brick lengths i of brick lengthwise for the space for usually equal to two 11 width of arch. This prior construction required considerable manual labor, both in the legs or" the over the arch space to form the which had to b volved labor,

the setting of the brick for arch, and in pulling the brick top, all of e performed by hand, and intime and expense. l fith such prior constructions, also, the heat supplied to the kiln throu h each arch b that the brick so intense adjacent each arch usually melted down or became so distorted that all these brick were thrown away as unmarketable.

quire-d intense percentage or The difliculty of burning through the brick in the arch legs laterally also re preheat and it has been loss in such kilns. in my present invention 1 have eliminated this loss,

as well as the mg the arches.

labor and diiiiculty of forn- I first provide a kiln with AND METHQD OF SETTING AND BURNING.

l, 1920. Serial N0. 420,925.

substantially twice as many arches as heretofore customary. This construction enables the arches to be to med of narrower width, 1. e., approximately the length of one brick in width, thus providing space for twice as many applications of heat and thereby enabling the heat supplied to be of proper degree rather than of undue amount. Furthermore, by having the legs of the arches relatively narrow, the brick in these legs are readily burned, and as the heat supplied in each arch is not excessive, these brick in each of the arch legs are burned to a proper and marketable temperature.

A. still further important advantage resultingfrom my invention, is that a kiln with these relatively narrow arches can be built by a mechanical setter, the setter preierably being; adapted to carr two arch legs.

It customary present in the brick art utilizing mechanical setters, when building kilns, to load the setter with a brick unit of four brick in length. Consequently by unloading one half the setter unit, i. e, two brick in length, to form the leg of an arch, sp 11g the remaining one half the desired anceireferably the length of a brick, and then setting the second half of the unit, the entire lower arch bench of the kiln can be quickly built by a setter. This construcarch one of the tion also presents to each therein, which are in the brick, lengthwise lowermost rows, the remaining brick-with the usual. setting of three over onebeing sufficiently above to receive and absorb the burning heat and to be burned into marketable brick. An additional advantage consists in the ease and facility of closing the so arches at their top when thus formed narrow. A single rowof brick can be readily pulled out from each side approximately a quarter of the distance, and the next unit of brick set on top of the same. Heretofore in closing arches of the usual width, it was necessary and customary to pull a plurality ci rows of brick, usually four rows being required to close the arch at its top, all necessitating; hand operation, disrupting the unit formation, and as these arch brick were usually overburned, increasing the percentage of loss in each kiln.

My present invention is preferably adapted for burning with gas or oil, and greatly conserves the heat in this method of burning because of the narrow walls of the arch. By having a larger number of arches and burners, the kiln can be more quickly brought up to the desired temperature and then the supply of heat reduced in each arch to prevent overburning and yet to complete the burning of the kiln more rapidly than by any other method. The legs of. the kiln are quickly burned, being only one brick lengthwise in depth, practically no waste brick will result, and substantially one hundred percent burned perfect brick is produced, The kiln cannot only be set economically. and quickly by mechanical setters, but may also be unloaded, and thus eliminate hand work almost entirely.

I believe that my improved construction of a; brick kiln with narrow arches, capable of. being closed with a single course at the top, suitable to provide arch legs of narrow width, resulting in LCOI11PlGt6ly burned and not overburned mass of brick in the lower benches, as well as throughout the stack, and a construction giving greater flexibility in the heat supply and control through a greater plurality of arches, while permit-ting complete building and unloading by mechanical, setters, is a distinct novelty, and I wish to claim these features broadly.

Referringto the drawings illustrating my invention in preferred embodiment,

Fig. l is a fragmentary view 01 a portion of my improved kiln construction.

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the building of my kiln by mechanical setters.

.Asshown in Fig. 1, the kiln is built with brick-hacked in the usual manner of three overone, and thearches, 1, 3, 5, 7, etc., are formed by spacing the legs designated generally at 2, 4, 6, 8, etc., a distance approximately equal to the length of one brick. These legs, 2, 1, 6, etc., are preferably one half the-setting length employed in building the-kiln, thus facilitating the handling of brick by. a mechanical setter without interrupting: the continuity of the units employed. As illustrated in the second unit row, thefull units are there set and are indicatedat 15, 16, 17, etc., these being setin regular order and without interruption on the-halt units forming the legs. By reason of the narrow arch spaces, 1, 3, 5, etc., Tarn enabled to close the top of these arches by pulling out a single course of brick, spacingthe topmost row of the arch legs, which course is here shown at 20, a single brick from either side being pulled inwardly to partially close the arch asshown at 21, 21, and. leaving a space inside which 1' -aybe filled by an additional brick 22, 23, 2a, etc. With the arches thus formed, the next adjacent unit 15, 16, 17, are set directly upon the lowermost unit, and by reason of having the small arches closed with a single course of brick, a substantially level and uniform base on which to rest the units 15, 16, 17, 18, etc., is supplied. These advan- 7o tages and features very greatly increase the facility and speed with which a kiln may be built. The small archesalso save space-in the kiln shed. V

As shown in Fig. 2 the kiln formed with the small arches 1, 3, 5, etc., is here shown being built by a mechanical setter, the latter showing a unit 30 being carried by a mechanical setter 35 of a type illustrated in it. C. Penfield Patent No. 999,519, dated Aug. 1, 1911, this being a well known type. Any suitable crane can be utilized. to handle such a setter, but as here illustrated atraveling crane 4L0 adaptedv to traverse tracks 41, 41, mounted on a irameworkorsupport at either side or the kiln, carrying the transverse carriage 4A, carrying hoisting drums to raise and lower the turntable 15 to. whichthe setter 35 is attached. In building the lower benches the setter is-operated to unload one-halt of the unit 30 to! form the course atv the bench 2, for example, then spaced the desired distance approximately the length oi one brickand the remaining halt is lowered. to form. the leg 4, the attendant pulling out the adj acentbricks 21, 21, to close. the top of the arch-andfitting in the bricks 22 and 23. This process is repeated until the entire lower bench of the kiln is laidor until that part is laid on which it is desiredto build. the upper units. Thereupon the setter unloads the upper units 15, 16 andl? fulland-complete. "With the kiln thus built, the firingis caused by supplying the heat preferablythrough oil or gas burners in each arch-and owing to the greater number of arches and burners thus supplied, the kiln. can. be quickly brought to a. burning temperature without melting down, distorting or destroying. the face brick in each arch. Thereupon the fires can be reduced inthearches and the burning heat maintained without forcing excessively high temperatures. through the adjacent brick of the arches. The-legs of the kiln being narrow, are; readily burned to. weather-proof hardness and will be as good and marketable brick as that in the rest oi the kiln. When burned, thevbrick may be unloaded by a similarmechanical setter, as the units will be substantially unimpaired.

, My invention is further described and defined in the iormof claims as follows:

1. That improvement in the art of burning brick which consists in building akiln with relatively narrow arches-and substantally twice the number heretofore employed. supplying heat. to each arch in desired aiz'tountl to bring thekilnto initial tempera.- ture, then reducing the heat in each arch to 1,444,220 prevent overburning of the arch brick and mately two brick len maintaining said reduced heat until the the top of each Lurch by pulling out the brick 1O burning is completed. of a single course, and completing the build- 2. The improved method of building a ing of the kiln thereon by mechanical setbrick kiln which consists in forming the ting means. arches of substantially a space of one brick In testimony whereof, I have signed my length in Width and of relatively great name to this specification.

number, forming the arch legs of approxi- WILLIAM J. SULLIVAN.

gths in Width, closing 

